Of all the large racquet companies, Head seems to have the widest variety of pro stock offerings for its professional players. Their internal pro stock catalog is highly organized and offers current and discontinued retail molds with retail and custom layups in addition to a few pro stock molds and layups that were never available at retail.
Sometimes, it’s as simple as an 18×20 pattern in a graphene radical mold with retail layup. Other times, it’s the layup of the PT10 (Prestige Classic) or PT57A (Pro Tour 630) in a Graphene Speed mold or 2021 Prestige MP-L mold.
Because of the wide variety of frames professionals can choose from, it’s surprising to see a pro player actually using a racquet that we can basically get off the shelf right now—to be fair, Head’s retail frames feel and play great in my opinion, so it’s not a HUGE surprise.
In this case, it’s Alexander Zverev using what is effectively a retail Gravity Pro modified to his specifications. You know what we do here, so let’s dig into what Sascha uses.
- Endorsed Racquet: Head Gravity Pro (check price here)
- Actual Racquet: Head TGT 344.3 AKA Head Graphene 360+ Gravity Pro with Innegra Speed String Spacing
- Strings: Head Hawk Touch mains and Natural Gut Crosses
Zverev’s Racquet
Sascha played most of his junior days and early pro career with the Head Innegra Speed MP in 18×20 pattern. That racquet has a nearly identical mold to the Gravity Pro, though there are a couple small differences in the frame geometry, string spacing, and the graphite layup.
It’s not surprising that Alexander switched to the TGT 344 mold, though. Many players agree that it brings that old school soft, buttery Head feel its classic racquets were known for into a modern-playing frame.
Specifically, Zverev uses the TGT 344.3 which has the “non-parallel” drill pattern of the Innegra Speed MP 18×20 rather than the retail Gravity Pro drill pattern.
It’s a slight difference but must matter to Sascha considering he played most of his career with the Innegra Speed pro stock.
Strings & Specs
Zverev’s frames come in with strung specs of 344g, 33 cm balance, and 360 swingweight. That’s a hefty, powerful frame in the hands of the lanky German.
It’s no wonder that he plays giant offense on both wings, especially his backhand, and has one of the most dominating first serves on the tour.
He strings his frames with a hybrid of Head Hawk Touch in the mains at 24 kilos and uses natural gut as his cross strings at 25 kilos. He’s used this combo for quite some time and shows no sign of switching.
Again, we see another professional player basically using the same racquet for his entire career. It’s really no surprise: why would you change anything significantly when you get to number 3 in the world at 20 years old and win 2 World Tour Finals?
He’s made a US Open Final and the semis at Roland Garros and the Australian Open too. There’s really no need for this guy to tweak his equipment. It seems to fit him quite well, and I’m sure he’ll be the face of the Gravity line for quite some time!
If you’re interested in other ATP players’ racquets, I listed all the top 100 players’ racquets in this post.